Carriage-top.



A. P. SERAMOR,

, CARRIAGE TOP.

-APPLICATION FILED APR. H. 1914.

1 1 52,662 Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

para-a r FFICE.

nrrrrrunr. SERAMOB, or ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, sssrsnon "ro EMERSGN-BRANLEINGHAM COMPANY, or :eooxronn, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

CARRIAGE-TOP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR I Situation,

- a citizen of the United States, residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have lnvented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriage-Tops,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to carriage tops and more particularly to means for supporting a carriage topoin its lowered position.

It has been a practice in the construction of carriage tops of the pivoted bow type, prior to my invention, to provide rests for receiving the bows of a carriage top to support it in its lowered position. Necessarily these rests in order to receive the bows, must extend outward to such anextent' from the seat portion of a buggy or vehicle that when the bows have been raised the rests form lateral extensions which mar the design of the buggy seat and are undesirable obstructions at the sides thereof. I

One of the primary objects of my invention therefore is to provide rests for, sup porting a carriage top in its lowered posi tion by obviating bow-rests and providing rests for bow-braces located at the inside of the bows.

Another object ofmy invention is to locate rests or supports adjacent the pivotal supports of the bow-braces for limiting the braces in their lowered position,

through the braces.

A further object of provide rests for maintaining members received thereby fixed from lateral displacement, and to provide spring means for yieldingly retaining the members fromraising movement.

By reference to the drawings,Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a carriage top embodying invention. Fig; 2 is a side view of the carriage top in a lowered position. Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of the means for maintaining the carriage top in its lowered position, and Fig. lis a similar view, but showing a modified form of said means. I

The carriage top to which I have shown my improvements applied is of that type having the braces for supporting the bows raised, at the inside of the bows. The bows designated generally by the reference char? whereby the carnage top when lowered is earned my invention is to 'acter 5 are pivotally connected at 6 to a" seat-associated member or rail 7, and the two outer bows are connected by horizontal braces 8. Upright braces 9 for maintaining the bows in their raised position are pivotally supported and connected at their lower ends 10 to the seat rail through the intermediary of upwardly and forwardly inclined posts 11 fixed to the seat rail, said braces being pivotally connected at their upper ends to the rear bow and having each a forwardly breaking joint intermediate their ends. By

breaking of these braces forwardly the bows are permitted to move to a lowered position whereby the braces are carried backwardly and downwardly, pivoted from their ends 10. The braces are limited in this backward pivotal movement by being received by stops or rests 12 in the path of movement of said braces, said rests being fixed with and extended laterally from the posts 11 at a point adjacent to the pivotal connections of the braces therewith, whereby the braces will be held in a lowered position as shown in Fig. 2. I have provided the laterally extending rests 12 with means forreceiving the braces to retain them from lateral movement and yieldingly from being raised, these means for each rest comprising-a pair. of spring arms 13 fastened to an. extension 12 by a bolt 14, forming a spring reception means open at its top for receiving the brace member in a manner as seen in Fig. 3, wherein the brace is shown in dotted lines. In Fig. .4 I have shown a modified form of means for holding the brace member lateral displacement by providing the laterally extending member 12 with an upturned end 15.

It will be seen that the bows and carriage top are supported in their lowered position I through he braces 9, the posts 11 and the late-ralbraces .12; andit will be manifest that this means of support obviates the use of unsightly; and more or less cumbersome auxiliary parts for effecting such purpose. Furthermore, by carrying the weight of the top through the braces the various pivotal connections between the bows, the braces and the brace supports are kept tight and free from shaking and rattling, which is prevalent in other carriage top structures in use. 1

I claim as my invention: 1. In a carriage top, the combination of I pivoted bows, a jointed brace located at the j 4. In a carriage top,

inner side of and adjacent to eachside portion of the bows, for maintaining the same in raised position, said braces being pivotally mounted on fiXed pivots, and a fiXed stop adjacent to the pivotal mounting of each brace and being so arranged that only the pivotally mounted action of the jointed brace may abut against the stop when the bows have been lowered, whereby to support the bows in such position through the medium of the braces.

2. A carriage top comprising pivoted associated bows, Iupright braces pivotally mounted on fixed pivots and being con nected with the bows to maintain them in their raised position, able with the bows when the latter are moved to a lowered position and means adjacent to the pivotal support of each brace upon which only the braces rest when in a lowered position, the bows being supported in their said lowered medium of said braces and said means upon which they rest.

. 3. A carriage top comprising pivoted associated bows, pivotally supported braces for maintaining the bows in their raised position and being swingable with the bows when the latter are moved to their lowered position, and means adjacent to the supporting pivots of the braces for receiving and holding the braces only from lowering and lateral movement when the bows have been moved to a lowered position, and serving as means for supporting the bows in said lowered position.

the combination of a pair of jointed braces arranged within the sides of the carriage top, the braces being pivotally mounted at their lower ends and being pivotally connected at their upper ends with the bows for maintaining the same inv raised position, the braces being movable with the bows when the same are moved to lowered position, and means upon which only the braces rest directly when the bows have reached their lowered position whereby they will be supported in said lowered position through the medium of the braces.

I 5. The combination with a seat having sides and an upright back, of a bow-top pivpivoted bows,

the braces being mov-- position through the otally mounted at the sides of the seat, a pair of jointed braces pivotally mounted on the raised back of the seat and being pivotally connected to the bow-top, the said braces being constructed to hold the bow-top in raised position and being movable with the top when the same is moved to lowered position, and rest means mounted on the said raised back of the seat and upon which only the braces rest when the bows are moved to lowering position, whereby the bows will be supported in such position by said braces.

6. The combination with a carriage top having pivotally mounted bows, of a pair of jointed braces arranged at the inside of the hows, the braces being pivotally mounted at their lower ends and pivotally connected at their upper ends to the carriage top and being so arranged with respect thereto that when the carriage top has been moved to lowering position the braces will extend rearwardly from the' pivotal mountings, and stops at the rear of and adjacent to said pivotal mountings of the braces whereby the pivotally mounted sections of the braces will abut against said stops when the carriage top has been moved to lowered position and will hold the top in said position through the medium of the braces.

Acarriage top comprising pivoted bows adapted to swing from a raised position to a lowered position wherein they are disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, a pair of jointed braces disposed at the inside of the side arms of the bows, each brace being pivotally mounted at its lower end on a fixed pivot and pivotally connected at its upper end with the bows for holding the same in raised position whereby the bows when moved to said lowered position may be held therein suspended through the braces, and fixed means adjacent to the pivotal mountings of the braces upon which only the braces rest when the bows are moved to lowered-position whereby the said bows will be held suspended in such position through the medium of the braces resting upon said means.

ARTHUR P. SERAMOR.

lVitnesses:

ROBERT LATHROP, ROY H. BROWN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

: Washington, D. 0.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,152,662, granted September 7,

1915, upon the application of Arthur P. Seramor, of Rockford, Illinois, for an improvement in Carriage-Tops, an error appears in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 2, line 7, claim 1, for the Word action read section; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 5th day of October, A. D., 1915.

i R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

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